


Almost Like Being In Love

by theskyefalls (emmathecharming)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Actors AU, Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, but they def do not like each other, thefitzsimmonsnetwork fitzsimmons secret valentine 2017, they never really hate each other, well sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9802382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmathecharming/pseuds/theskyefalls
Summary: Leo Fitz is returning to showbiz after taking a break because he's been offered the opportunity of a lifetime-reprising a role made famous by Gene Kelly. His costar, Jemma Simmons, however, does not seem as excited about their new movie as he is. Can they work together to recreate the magical Brigadoon or will their increasingly complicated feelings get in the way?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jemmahearteyessimmons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jemmahearteyessimmons/gifts).



**Day 1 on Set**

Leo Fitz looks down at the script in his hand- _Brigadoon._ It was one of the few musicals his mum had been able to convince him to watch when he was younger but he still can’t believe that his agent was able to convince him to take on the part. He had been rather enjoying his break from acting, after all, and he had never done a musical before. But he knows better than to say no when he is asked to reprise a role that Gene Kelly made famous.

He flips through to the page in the script packet that lists the entire cast. He sees his name displayed first followed by an unfamiliar name listed as his costar- Jemma Simmons. He had never met her or even seen any of her work but the director had been rather enthusiastic when he had told Fitz about his new partner earlier that day. _She’s fabulous; you’ll love her_ , he had said. _Even her accent is impeccable,_ he had added causing Fitz to scoff. Sure it’s possible to affect a Scottish accent but, more often than not, the ones he heard were anything but impeccable.

Fitz’s phone sounds and he looks up to see that it is the alarm he had set to make sure he left for the studio on time. He sighs as he reaches for his water bottle before shoving it and his script into a small backpack by his dressing room door and starting his walk to the studio.

“And there he is,” Fitz hears the director’s voice call as he steps onto the soundstage.

“How did you know it was me?” Fitz asks, looking around for the owner of the voice.

“Everyone else is already here,” the director replies just as Fitz spots him near one of the set pieces. “Leo Fitz,” he says stepping aside and revealing the person he had been talking to before Fitz’ arrival. “Meet your new costar, Jemma Simmons.”

Fitz can’t help but stare at the woman before him- her kind eyes and hair that falls perfectly around her face joining with the stage lights to form a halo to frame her gentle smile.

He is pulled from his trance when he notices her hand is extended between them waiting for him to shake it.

“Nice to meet you,” he stammers as he reaches out to take her hand in his.

“I’ll give you two a few minutes to get to know each other before we start going over the blocking for your scenes,” the director says as he starts to walk away.

Fitz scratches at the back of his neck as he tries to figure out something to say that won’t make him seem an idiot

“Pretty exciting to be given the chance to do this remake, huh?” Jemma asks slowly.

“Uh… yeah,” Fitz replies forcing himself to make eye contact.

Jemma sighs but doesn’t say anything else and Fitz shuffles his feet as he racks his brain.

“I think I’m gonna go…” Jemma trails off before adding, “get a bottle of water.”

She retreats quickly and Fitz silently chides himself for mucking up their introduction.

“Alright, everyone!” the director calls. “Let’s get started.”

-/-

“Fuck…” Fitz sighs as he closes his dressing room door behind him later that day. They had spent hours blocking the montage-like scene in the movie where his character falls in love with Jemma’s and he had spent the entire time trying to ignore how much he wanted to kiss her.

“What is wrong with me?” he asks the empty room as he slumps down onto the couch opposite the door before laying down on it. “I’m acting like a schoolboy.”

Fitz had avoided starting relationships for the most part- too much hassle in his line of work- but those he’d had all started slowly. He had always become friends with women before even thinking about moving on to something more.

But with Jemma… with Jemma, he had known as soon as he first saw her that there was something special about her.

And it had nearly cost him this role.

-/-

“That was the worst rehearsal I’ve ever been a part of!” Jemma huffs as she walks into the dressing room next to her own. Its owner, her best friend Daisy, looks up from her phone at the intrusion.

“What are you talking about, Jems?” Daisy asks, kicking her feet back over the side of the chair she's in so that she is facing Jemma.

“Leo Fitz,” is Jemma’s only reply.

“Say again…?”

“My costar. _If_ you can call him that anyway.”

Daisy sighs quietly and pats the chair next to her. Jemma finally pushes the door closed behind her and sulks across the room to sit next to her friend.

“Look Jemma,” Daisy says, her tone the one she usually affects when she's about to lecture Jemma. “I know you prefer to work with people that always know their lines and all that… but I've seen this guy act,” she says. “And he is _good_.”

“He _hates_ me!” Jemma exclaims as she drops into the chair next to Daisy’s. “And as for knowing his lines-”

“First of all,” Daisy interrupts holding a figure up between them to silence Jemma. “I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to hate you. Sure you can get pretty neurotic at times… but that’s beside the point.”

“He pushed me down the hill set piece during dance rehearsal,” Jemma asserts swatting at Daisy’s finger.

“Wait what?” Daisy asks, holding back a fit of laughter.

“He said he simply tripped but…” Jemma explains rolling her eyes.

“Then give him a chance, ok?” Daisy says.

There is a knock at the door before Jemma can answer and a voice from the other side calls out to tell Daisy that she’s wanted on set.

“I’ll try,” Jemma says reluctantly. “But if he messes this up for me-”

“I get it,” Daisy sighs, cutting her off as she makes to leave for set. “Just try not to bite his head off in the process,” she adds as she walks out the door.

-/-

**Day 12 on Set**

“Cut!” comes the director’s voice from behind the bank of lights and cameras opposite them.

Fitz turns to his costar with a shy smile to tell her his thoughts on that take but as he opens his mouth to speak, he notices that she’s turned her back on him and is walking towards the craft table with another of the actresses, Daisy Johnson. Fitz sighs quietly before turning to find his water bottle.

“Not much for conversation, huh?” Lance Hunter, the actor playing Jeff, asks from his chair on the edge of the set, his own plate from the craft services table already almost empty. “Simmons,” he adds when Fitz does not respond.

“You can say that again,” Fitz gripes. “We’re halfway through filming and I don’t think she’s said 10 words to me outside of the ones in the script.” Fitz grabs his water bottle from the table where he’d left it and settles into the chair next to HUnter’s.

“It’s probably not you, mate,” Hunter assures him. “I hear she’s not known for being the warmest of costars.”

“That may be,” Fitz laughs. “But I’m quite sure it’s because of me. I made a complete ass of myself the first day.”

“As opposed to the normal, incomplete ass you usually are?” Hunter quips.

“Bugger off,” Fitz mumbles back, hiding a slight smile.

“What do you even care anyway? We’re almost done filming and then besides a small bit of promotion, you’ll never have to see her again.”

_I really hope you’re wrong._

-/-

**Day 25 on Set**

Fitz walks on set after his lunch break to find Jemma stretching off to the side as the crew touched up the hillside set.

“We doing a reshoot?” Fitz asks Jemma as he walks over to sit in one of the chairs near where she is warming up.

“Yeah,” she sighs. “The director wants to do one more take of our dance scene.” She doesn’t look at him as she speaks, instead focusing on the task at hand.

“That’s surprising,” Fitz muses, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket.

Jemma turns to look at him now, her face full of confusion. “I thought you’d be used to picky directors by now,” she laughs.

“Oh I am. But you’re such a lovely dancer, I thought for sure even Phil would be happy with what we’ve already shot.”

At this, Fitz can see Jemma freeze as he watches her over his phone. He thinks she is about to respond but the director calls out for everyone to get on set before she can say anything.

Fitz’s focus remains on Jemma as they move into position to begin the take. He notices the music begin to play and he begins to sing at his cue, all the while, his eyes remaining fixed on his partner.

He’s spent three weeks acting opposite Jemma but this take, he thinks, is the best he’s seen from her so far. Before, her dancing was precise, rather incredible really, but today, she seems to be getting lost in the melody and the moment. He has never seen anything so stunning in his life.

“Cut!” he hears the director call, bringing him back and he looks to Jemma with a smile on his face.

“That take felt like the one,” Fitz says softly.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Jemma,” the director calls before she can say anything else. “I need you to change so we can shoot the scene where Tommy decides to stay.”

“Got it,” Jemma answers before turning to go to her dressing room.

-/-

“What was that?” Daisy asks as soon as Jemma opens her dressing room door.

“What was _what_?” Jemma asks crossing the room to the rack of dresses in the corner.

“You like Fitz,” Daisy teases, poking at Jemma.

“That’s ridiculous,” Jemma replies matter of factly as she begins to unbutton the bodice of her dress.

“Right…” Daisy says, opening the door. “Whatever you say, Jems.”

Jemma hears the door click closed as Daisy leaves. And as she reaches for the red dress in front of her, her mind wanders back to her last take.

 _Maybe he doesn’t hate me_ , she thinks remembering the smile that covered his face through most of the scene. He had proven himself to be a wonderful actor after their disastrous first day but that smile had not felt like an actor’s smile. It had felt far more genuine than that. And she would be lying if she denied how comfortable it felt to be wrapped in his arms.

“Damn,” she sighs as she pins the dress’ sash in place, taking a slow, deep breath before turning to head back to the set.

When Jemma arrives back on the soundstage, she sees Fitz talking in the corner to another of the actors, Lance Hunter and she can’t help but notice Fitz’s smile. It lights up his whole face and she can’t help the matching smile that takes over her face at the sight. When she looks away to find Daisy, her friend winks at her knowingly from across the room. Jemma sighs as the director steps in front of the camera to put Fitz and herself in their starting places.

Jemma is able to make it through her lines at the beginning of the scene without issue but when it comes time for them to dance, she begins to drown in the music again. When he pulls her closer and her eyes lock onto his, she loses herself in the depth of his blue eyes.

Jemma holds her breath as he moves them into position for their kiss and she thinks, based on how tightly he is holding her, that he is doing the same.

She closes her eyes and a moment later, his lips meet hers. He is gentle to begin with as he is still supporting most of her weight. But as he bends down so that her feet can return to the ground, she feels his hand settle on the back of her neck as his fingers tangle in her hair. Jemma freezes for a moment but then he deepens the kiss and it feels like her heart skips a beat.

All too soon, Fitz pulls away and Jemma struggles to catch her breath. She is thankful that their choreography calls for him to help her back to her feet because she is still breathless as he pulls away to make his exit from the scene.

“Cut,” the director says excitedly and Jemma has never been happier to hear a single word in her life. She tries to cross the stage so that she can speak to Fitz but the director steps between them. “That was just wonderful, you two! We don’t even need another take for that scene. Take a few minutes while we adjust the cameras and then we’ll shoot Tommy leaving. After that…” he adds, “you’ll be done, Jemma.”

 _Oh that’s right,_ she thinks. _We’ve already shot the last scene._ Jemma isn’t sure but she thinks she sees Fitz’s face fall slightly at the director’s words and she wonders if perhaps he’s as disappointed that this will be their last day together as she is.

She hopes that he is.

-/-

Fitz listens as Phil tells them what they’ll be shooting next but his eyes are unable to leave Jemma’s face. Just a few moments ago, he’d had her wrapped in his arms and they were sharing a kiss. And while he was trying not to think about this part, he was fairly certain that it had left her just as breathless as it had left him.

He moves to pull her aside after the director leaves them alone but Hunter steps in front of him before he can.

“That was intense, mate,” Hunter whispers, pulling him towards the hallway that leads to their dressing rooms.

“Yeah…” Fitz sighs, looking over his shoulder to see that Jemma has disappeared.

-/-

Fitz returns to the soundstage after a few minutes to find Jemma pacing before the line of chairs on the edge of the stage.

“Everything alright?” he asks her quietly as he comes to a stop near the end of her track. Jemma stops at his words and looks up to meet his eyes.

“Can I talk to you a minute?” she whispers motioning a bit further from the nearby crew. Fitz follows where she leads him and stops a few steps behind her as she begins to pace again. “So that last take, huh?” she jokes tensely.

“Yeah about that…” he starts before she cuts him off.

“I know this is going to sound crazy,” she starts. “Well it is crazy,” she continues, the pace of her words quickening even as her feet slow to a stop. “All this talk of miracles and love at first sight are clearly going to my head. I mean we’ve barely even known each other a month and yet… I can’t get you out of my head. And that kiss,” she blurts before finally stopping to take a breath.

“Slow down, Jem. Take a breath,” Fitz soothes, reaching out a hand and placing it gently on her arm. “You’re not crazy,” he whispers, sliding his hand down to take hers in it. “Not at all.”

“Wait…” Jemma says, looking up to meet his eyes again. “You mean…?” she asks, her question unfinished but still clear.

“Since the first time I saw you,” Fitz replies, a smile slowly taking over his face as he watches the worry leave her eyes.

“So…” Jemma says, gently squeezing his hand.

“So…” Fitz smiles and steps slightly closer to her.

“Fitz! Jemma!” Fitz sighs as Hunter calls them to set.

“Shall we continue the conversation later?” Jemma asks slowly taking a step away from Fitz.

“I really hope so,” Fitz says as they both turn to walk back to the stage.

They perform the scene just as they rehearsed it a dozen times. Fitz and Hunter’s characters argue until they both resolve to leave right away and then they break the news to Jemma’s Fiona.

But as Fitz begins to walk offstage as his character leaves, he hears Jemma calling after him. “I love you! I love you. I love you.” The increasingly quiet declarations are in the script- he knows that. But that doesn’t stop them from distracting him. The words sound so lovely coming from her- even in her affected Scottish accent. He thinks he might like to hear her say them again, as Jemma and not Fiona, someday. But for now, he would simply settle for the smile he watches form on her face the second the camera stops rolling.

_Maybe believing in miracles isn’t so crazy after._

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know actors would meet before things get to the blocking stage. I know read-throughs happen before that. But I took some liberties so that the story could be the focus and not the ins and outs of the movie biz.


End file.
